Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Mateo vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
San Mateo is 61.4% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 36.6% more in San Mateo
- Groceries
-
pay 61.2% more in San Mateo
- Transportation
-
pay 11.8% more in San Mateo
- Housing
-
pay 77.9% more in San Mateo
- Childcare
-
pay 3.1 times more in San Mateo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 37.5% more in San Mateo
- Clothing
-
pay 10.2% less in San Mateo
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and transportation in San Mateo are more expensive than in Ottawa. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in San Mateo.
San Mateo vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Mateo instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 36.6% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$25.16
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.40
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.80
|
$3.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.18
|
$2.34
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Mateo - Cost of restaurants
pay 61.2% more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.82
|
$5.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.18
|
$7.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$12.10
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.92
|
$8.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$8.03
|
$9.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.67
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.84
|
$0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.28
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.33
|
$3.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.55
|
$2.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.04
|
$2.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Mateo - Cost of groceries
pay 11.8% more for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.66
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$135.85
|
$65.60
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$34,192.21
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.73
|
?? | |
Ottawa vs. San Mateo - Cost of transportation
pay 77.9% more for housing
|
Ottawa
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.84
|
$63.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,031.76
|
$2,743.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,718.66
|
$2,855.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$166.35
|
$194.97
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Mateo - Cost of housing
pay 3.1 times more for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,102.46
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$22,034.96
|
$42,750.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Mateo - Cost of childcare
pay 37.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$8.05
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.24
|
$5.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$18.11
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$62.39
|
$95.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$15.09
|
$15.99
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Mateo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.2% less for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.89
|
$60.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$54.43
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$121.83
|
$101.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$129.96
|
$60.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Mateo - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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